A short update on Ami.

He is out of surgery. The Lord has been merciful. The boy is still a mess but stable. Amazing news - no shrapnel got into his arteries or vital organs. One lung was crushed but they managed to save it. His brain is not injured. His body is intact except for losing several toes (not sure why “toes” instead of “fingers”, but this detail is from his mother Leah). The swelling in his face has gone down.

It’s truly miraculous, given the fact that the bomb was right in front of him. The Lord had to have been shielding him to keep him alive.

That was the good news. The rest… he has 2nd and 3rd degree burns, deep gashes all over, both arms broken. And his eyes are badly damaged. The med team hasn’t even had a chance to take care of that yet, because of all the life-threatening things they were working on all night. He is stable but heavily sedated.

His parents were at the hospital all night and are obviously in a state of shock and exhaustion. I haven’t seen their apartment, but the older Ortiz kids went to the house and they say the entire kitchen and living room are destroyed. No one is even thinking about that, because Ami is alive and that’s enough for now.

The Shabak (general security people) are doing a complete investigation. They were just here at the house. The two theories of “who” are still being considered - either antimissionaries (Jewish extremists) or Arab terrorists.

For the record, I strongly doubt the antimissionary theory. The hostile hareidim do things very differently - usually going wild and/or bringing a crowd to demonstrate. In the most extreme cases they have set fire to a meeting place (while empty). They do not try to carry out cold-blooded murders - and they certainly would not use the tradition of Purim gift-giving (a mitzvah they take quite seriously) for the bait!

In fact it was not a traditional Purim food-basket - it was a wrapped package, unusually bulky and large. Ami called his parents to comment on it, about 20 minutes before opening it….

This bomb was designed by people who knew what they were doing, how to set and hide a trigger, and how to maximize its blast effect. It was packed with metal shards, a trademark of PA-sponsored terror. David has had a “fatwa” on his head (death threat) from Hamas for several years, for the crime of bringing Palestinian Muslims to faith in Yeshua.

There was not much media coverage of this angle. I personally think the police have downplayed the terrorist theory because it would mean having to face the fact that Palestinians got in and out of Ariel without being noticed. (We have never had a terror attack inside our gates for the 30 years of Ariel’s existence, in spite of being in the middle of Samaria.) They don’t want to open that ‘Pandora’s box’ until they absolutely have no choice.

We are praying that the guilty parties will be caught - and I’m specifically praying that they will feel the Lord’s intense pressure on them.

We’re very thankful the Lord has spared Ami. Bless all of you who have been praying, and thanks to all who replied by email and phone. Please keep praying. Ami is still in bad shape. The family obviously has a long, hard trial ahead of them.

blessings and Shabbat Shalom